Ballot committees file year's first
OCPF finance reports
Yesterday was the deadline for ballot committees to file
their first financial report of 2000 with the state Office of Campaign & Political Finance. More money has been raised for
and against Question 4 than any other ballot question -- even without considering the CLT ballot committee,
A Promise to Keep: 5%, which none of the news reports seem to have.
While the news reports the hundreds of thousands, A Promise
to Keep: 5% is working figuratively with nickels and dimes.
The Gimme Lobby raised just about half a million dollars in
this reporting period, which ran from Jan.1 - Sep 3. It is important to note that TEAM (Tax Everything And More) didn't
have to fund a petition drive in the spring, as Gov. Cellucci's "Tax Rollback Committee" did. TEAM didn't need to even HAVE a
ballot committee -- didn't need to raise or spend a cent -- until we
made it onto the ballot and became a real threat to them.
Still, the Gimme Lobby has easily been able to exceed the
fund-raising of both Gov. Cellucci's Tax Rollback Committee and our A Promise to Keep: 5% committee combined.
Below are the basics of the report filed by A Promise to
Keep: 5%. As you can clearly see, we need your financial support and we need it now! After paying off our debt, A
Promise to Keep: 5% will have just under $5,000 keeping us afloat ... and we just spent $2,205 of that yesterday paying
for 15,000 bumper stickers!
Watch your mail in about ten or twelve days for our letter
and request for your support. Then, please quickly respond.
 |
|
Chip Ford |
A Promise to Keep: 5%
Reporting Period:
January 1, 2000 - September 3, 2000
| Ending balance from previous report |
$5,980.98 |
| Total receipts in excess of $50.00 |
$19,900.00 |
| Total receipts $50 and under |
$21,008.00 |
| TOTAL RECEIPTS IN THIS PERIOD |
$40,908.00 |
| TOTAL EXPENDITURES |
$8,075.52 |
| Ending Balance |
$38,813.46 |
| OUTSTANDING LIABILITIES (DEBT) |
$33,936.99 |
MetroWest Daily News
Saturday, September 9, 2000
Special interest groups bankroll ballot questions
By David B. Caruso
News State House Bureau
BOSTON -- Once the domain of grass-roots groups and angry
political activists, the state's ballot initiatives are quickly becoming a playground for the rich and well-connected.
A handful of special interests, including labor unions, HMOs
and the state's business elite, have pumped millions of dollars this year into the campaigns for and against eight ballot
questions that will go before voters Nov. 7.
The biggest bucks have gone into Question 4, the referendum
that will decide whether to roll back the state income tax to 5 percent, according to reports filed late yesterday afternoon
with the state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Labor groups and teachers unions funneled almost $500,000
into the campaign to defeat the tax rollback between Jan. 1 and Sept. 3.
During the same period, wealthy businessmen and a few Boston
businesses contributed more than $230,000 to the group, led by Gov. Paul Cellucci, trying to knock nearly a full percentage
point off the income tax.
Leading the way in support for both groups are a small
number of donors who have freely turned over tens of thousands of dollars apiece.
Two groups, the Boston Teachers Union and the Massachusetts
Federation of Teachers, contributed a total of $165,000 to the Campaign for Massachusetts' Future, the group opposed to the
tax cut.
Labor unions were the second biggest contributors to the
effort, with $100,000 coming in from AFSCME, $31,000 from the AFL/CIO, $20,000 from Operating Engineers Local 4 and $80,000
from Service Employees International Union Local 509.
On the other side, a coalition of business leaders are
financing the Cellucci tax cut effort. Boston Edison, Fidelity Investments, businessman Mark Hirsh and John Kareb of Hood Inc.
all contributed $10,000 apiece. Big Dig developer and construction mogul Jay Cashman and businessman John W. Childs
each contributed $20,000. Ted Bernard Cutler, president of GWV Travel gave the campaign $25,000. Another $50,000
was donated by Goodrich Properties Inc.
Associated Press
Saturday, September 9, 2000
Ballot question supporters submit finance reports
By John McElhenny
BOSTON (AP) ...
Unions were among the largest contributors to the anti-tax
cut side. The state's largest teachers union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, contributed $75,000, while a union of
service workers, the SEIU Local 509 in Cambridge, gave $80,000.
Businesses and their executives were featured prominently
among supporters of the tax cut. Construction mogul and Big Dig contractor Jay Cashman donated $20,000. Ted Benard Cutler,
president of a travel agency in Boston, donated $25,000 in support of the tax cut.
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